38 deaths in first month of monsoon
Just one month into the monsoon, Mumbai has already witnessed 38 deaths and 56 injuries. Last year in the same period, there were 26 deaths reported in rainrelated incidents. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) data shows that nearly 1,700 rain-related incidents, ranging from house collapse to drowning and tree fall, have been reported since June 1 this year. Half of the 38 deaths have been reported this week alone.
Manisha Bhoir, 40, a civic school peon, pillion rider who was crushed to death by a speeding private bus after she fell off a twowheeler that hit a pothole during heavy rains in Kalyan on Saturday and Asmita Katkar, 35, who succumbed to injuries she had sustained when a section of a pedestrian bridge collapsed at Andheri railway station were the 37th and 38th victims in rain-related incidents.
Civic officials said the most casualties were people who drowned in the city’s beaches or in stormwater drains (SWD). As many as 28 drowning deaths have been reported so far, including those of four teenagers at Juhu Beach on July 5.
Six deaths were caused by tree fall, three due to leptospirosis and one due to house collapse.
"Civic chief (Ajoy Mehta) has asked us to give loudspeakers to guards in order to announce high tide warnings and also increase police protection to secluded but attractive beaches and other water bodies where incidents may take place," said V H Khandkar, chief engineer, SWD.
A staggering 950-plus tree fall incidents have been reported in the first month of the monsoon, claiming six lives and injuring 20 others.
Some victims are still in hospital and some have been paralyzed as a result of severe injuries. A 20-yearold engineering college student suffered serious spinal injuries after a huge Gulmohar tree was uprooted by the wind and fell on him at Dadar on June 10.
The city has received substantial rainfall this monsoon. While Colaba recorded 986.5 mm of rainfall, 1,109.7 mm of rainfall was recorded at Santacruz between June 1 and July 7.